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Routing Numbers, also known as ABA Numbers or Routing Transfer Numbers are 9 digit numbers used by the banking system in the United States for identifying banks and financial institutions. This number system is used by the US banks for carrying out Automatic Clearing House and wire transfers. This includes various forms of transactions like direct deposits, electronic funds transfers, e-checks, tax payments, and direct payment against bills and much more.

If you need to know your Routing Numbers, you must contact your bank. Usually, people take the numbers on their checks to be the ABA numbers.

Routing Numbers are primarily used for identifying financial institutions on which the checks are drawn. It was first created for the facilitation of sorting and shipping of checks to the drawer account. When the new systems like wire transfer and Automatic Clearing House (ACH) transfer were launched, the routing system was further extended to include these payment modes.

This system is required by the Federal Reserve Banks for processing Fedwire funds transfers too. It was first developed during the beginning of the 20th century by the American Banker's Association. Hence it received the name, ABA Routing Transfer Number or ABA RTN.

The interesting thing about Routing Numbers is that they exist in two forms on the check:

MICR

Fraction

Although the same level of information is gained from both these formats, there are tiny differences between them. But MICR is the primary format. As the name suggests, it is in machine readable form. This format can be seen at the bottom left side of the check and comprises of 9 digits.

The fraction format is the older of the two. It was designed for manual processes. It is in fact, still in use and works as a backup system if the MICR numbers are damaged anyhow. These numbers can be seen on the upper right side of the check.

Routing Numbers contribute to the speed of the electronic payment systems like ACH. This system allows making or receiving payments in electronic form over its network. It enables faster and efficient processing of electronic payments and receipts over the network. It also offers more control over the payment timings. It also facilitates the conversion of checks between paper and electronic form.

Routing Numbers are used by the Federal Reserve for processing their customer payments. The numbers were initially allotted in a way that represented the location of a bank and how the Federal Reserve handled it internally.

There have been some changes more recently after the Federal Reserve Bank has centralized the processing of checks. The Federal Reserve has consolidated its processing systems and even the banking industry has been consolidated. After these changes, the Routing Numbers used by the financial institutions may no longer represent the Federal District or the location of the bank.

Thus, the ABA routing number system is a crucial system in the overall banking processing in the United States.

Swift Code or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication code is a globally accepted identification system for banks. These codes are mostly used for carrying out international wire transfers and can have 8/11 alphanumeric characters. It was first authorized to be created by the International Organization of Standardization (IOS).

The IFSC Code or the Indian Financial System Code is an 11 character code that is used by the Reserve Bank of India for identifying all the bank branches which are part of the NEFT system in India. It is used for the electronic payment system applications like the NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer, RTGS and CFMS.

MICR Code or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is a character recognition system used mostly by the banking industry for facilitating the processing of cheques. These characters are printed in special unique typefaces with magnetic ink. Iron oxide is the commonly used material and it requires a specially designed machine for reading these characters. These characters are mostly printed on the bottom of the cheque leaf. The code is required by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for identifying the bank and branch and clearing the cheque.

When it comes to making an international online payment, you will be required to provide a BIC code. It can often leave one confused as to what the Bic Codes refer to. These are the same as SWIFT codes. It is an international banking code for transfer of financial messages. The code is also used for identifying banks all across the world. BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code and SWIFT refers to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

The BSB Codes or Bank State Branch codes are 6-digit codes used for identifying banks and branches in Australia. If you want to transfer payments within Australia, you will need the account number and the BSB code of the recipient. Similarly, you will have to provide your own account number and BSB to the sender. As already mentioned, there are 6 digits in this code. The first 2 or 3 digits are used as bank identifier. This part of the code is used to process both electronic and paper-based transactions. However, it is not used in the case of payment card numbering.

Sort Codes are numbers assigned to bank branches and they are used mostly for the internal purposes of the bank. These codes will have 6 digits which are separated in sets of two's with hyphens. They are most widely used in the banking systems of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Routing Numbers, also known as ABA Numbers or Routing Transfer Numbers are 9 digit numbers used by the banking system in the United States for identifying banks and financial institutions. This number system is used by the US banks for carrying out Automatic Clearing House and wire transfers. This includes various forms of transactions like direct deposits, electronic funds transfers, e-checks, tax payments, and direct payment against bills and much more.

Disclaimer

We have made our best efforts in ensuring that the information provide on our website is up to date as per the information available with the federal regulatory authority in respective countries/jurisdictions. Yet we will request all users to affirm the information on our site with their respective banks before using it in any way. The banking systems of the world are constantly being upgraded and users are requested to verify the codes with their own banks before using them. All the information provided on this site is strictly for personal use. It should not be used without verifying. This website or anyone associated with it cannot be held liable/responsible for any damages arising out of the use of information provided here.